Thursday 19 April 2012

Liz The Legend, Larger Than Life

I'm an eclectic girl as my profile warns & I do have a penchant for a juicy biog.  full of gossip & outrageous stories. This one delivers on all fronts. "Elizabeth Taylor: The Lady, The Lover, The Legend "by David Bret is cram full of scandal,  colossal film budgets, Hollywood mega stars, more than one or two husbands  & consumption on such a scale that epic doesn't begin to describe it! Oh, and don't forget the jewels!!! At the end of all this excess, however, you can't help but admire the lady, she sure as heck took life by the scruff & went for it.
It's hard to describe what a star Elizabeth Taylor was . The husband in tow when I was first aware of her was Richard Burton & they seemed so unbelievably glamorous that, when they visited Oxford, it was as if royalty from another planet had landed. A friend is still star struck by their car being parked outside his Mum's house (he never actually saw them but the car was enough!)
 The picture comes courtesy of The Oxford Mail & is from their obituary tribute by local people. Read it here:-
www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/8928212.City_pays_tribute_to_film_legend_Liz_Taylor/
Elizabeth Taylor apparently saw at least some of the book before she died & aides told David Bret that it made her laugh. This is one of the things that you can't help but like about her, the ability to appreciate her own outrageousness and carry on regardless. It's not the most in depth biography you could read but is pacy & balanced although I don't agree with Bret's dismissal of her film career. I think that she certainly starred in some monstrous turkeys & that she had it in her to play much greater roles than she did, but her luminous screen presence will keep you watching a movie, however dire, waiting for her next appearance.
There is no doubt that Elizabeth Taylor's faults were many, but Bret conveys her courage (she saved Montgomery Clift's life by crawling into a crashed car that was leaking petrol), her loyalty to her friends (her devotion to poor Rock Hudson in the face of the appalling animosity he faced as he died from Aids), & the truly tremendous work she did, both in raising millions of dollars for research into Aids & breaking down the prejudices that surrounded  victims (in the early days of the awful disease she put her career on the line to do so). A riotous tribute to an awesome life & crammed full of wonderful anecdotes from Hollywood stars, friends & startled members of the public. We shall not see her like again.

1 comment:

  1. She was a great woman indeed, and so beautiful too!
    Hope you are having a great weekend!

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